Binaries
by BlueEyes White Dragon Sorcerer
Summary: Harry Potter is having dreams or are they memories? Tom Riddle has a twin who was taken and changed. SLASH! TRHP and a bit of GHMR or GKR noncon mentioned later. This 'G' does not stand for Ginny... and it's not an OC.
1. Dreams or Memories?

**Binaries**

**by BEWD Sorcerer**

Disclaim… er: Owning of nothingness. I am the non-owner of Harry Potter.

_**AN: I've finally settled down enough to write it out. I have all sorts of flashbacks set up and a direction to head in, so all I really have to do is focus on this one and figure out how it's all going to fit together. Initially I was going to have it start the minute after Voldie gets his body back, but there isn't enough room to maneuver in, so I moved it so it starts after Voldemort possesses Harry in the Atrium.**_

_thoughts_

"Out loud speech, English"

_'Parseltongue'_

**:Link Speech: **Note: not L33t speak

**1. Dreams or Memories?**

_He sits in a bare stone room, a jail cell. He had been kidnapped/rescued from his brother, who would undoubtedly come to kill him when it was found that he was gone, a depressing thought. His focus is brought back to the present as the people who had been talking outside his cell enter. He greets them both with a glare, but one in particular earns a snarl._

_"Old coot," he snarls, baring his teeth. Said old coot just continues smiling benignly, while the other captor, a James Potter, just watches the man of two years over half a century carefully._

_"Hello, Kieran. How have you been these past thirty-eight years?" Kieran hisses, reminiscent of a snake rather than a cat._

_"What have I told you about asking questions about family, old man? Did you think something had changed? Family matters stay between family members as they always have and always will." Dumbledore just looks amused._

_"Still loyal even after all he's done to-" James stares intently at the bristling man._

_"Better than what you would have done!" Dumbledore remains calm, his smile widening even as the angered man jerks forward as if to charge but stops before he's gone two steps. The oldest wizard in the room draws two potion vials from his pocket, holding them up so that the captive may see what they are. One is a clear ocean blue and the other is a solid dark grey._

_Kieran's eyes widen, flickering back and forth between his captors as he backs away quickly, becoming tenser by the moment._

_"Do you know what these are and what they do? I think you know." _

_"A De-Aging Potion and a Dark Arts Memory Suppressing Potion, but what would you gain from turning me into a child with no access to any previous memories?" Dumbledore's smile is chilling as he takes slow steps toward the prisoner._

_"Very good, Mr. Riddle, but the real question is: what would I not gain from disabling and hiding you?" Kieran snarls again._

_"I will not be made into a weapon!" Dumbledore's smile grows and his eyes are twinkling with a fiery glow._

_"Correct. I knew it wasn't only Tom who had brains. You just chose to slack off in school instead of fighting your brother for the top spot." Kieran's eyes have become rather glossy, the world appearing blurred and a little voice whispering in his ear for him to tell the truth ._

_"He-Stay out of it!" Realization dawns on his faces, then he hisses again, showing two long fangs slightly behind his eyeteeth. "You-" Dumbledore practically glows smugness._

_"It seems like you can't tell if some things are put in your food, particularly if they're tasteless, odorless, and colorless." James seems a little shocked._

_"Veritaserum?" Dumbledore nods. "You slipped me Veritaserum? I know nothing. He-" The captive fights with himself, pressing a hand firmly over his mouth._

_"What is your name?" The standard verification question to make sure the Veritaserum is in effect. Kieran is clearly fighting to not respond, but fails._

_"Henry Matthew Riddle." The two others are startled, while H. M. Riddle feels resigned._

_"Why are you called Kieran?" The dark haired captive snarls, but is forced to answer._

_"The orphanage matron at our birth called me Kieran and it has stuck ever since." He was fighting to keep his answers as short and uninformative as he could._

_"What happened to her?" With a grimace, he is forced to reply._

_"She died in the Battle of Britain." Kieran Riddle was not happy. _

_"What is the relationship between you and Tom Marvolo Riddle?" Not happy at all._

_"We're twin brothers." His reply is stiff and Dumbledore is not amused._

_"What else is between you and your twin brother?" Darkly glaring isn't as effective when you can't see what you're supposed to be glaring at clearly._

_"We are twins, brothers, friends." Another stiff answer. Dumbledore is not amused._

_"What is your relation to Voldemort?" In fact, he's quite angry. Kieran fights much harder to keep this answer, but it is forced out in pieces._

_"Bound-" He manages to stuff his fist partway into his mouth to muffle the rest of his answer, but Dumbledore wrenches it out. "-unwilling participant-" Snarling, he rips himself from Dumbledore's clutches, but only because Dumbledore is surprised._

_"You're against him?" James starts. He had not expected that. The prisoner is once again forced to give a reply._

_"Don't... agree... with-" Suddenly Kieran screams, clutching his head. Dumbledore just smirks._

_"Wonderful," he murmurs before grabbing the captive, who just moans in pain, and forces the two potions down his throat. Kieran whimpers, pulling away from Dumbledore and everything goes black._

Harry Potter jerks up, looking and feeling like he had just run a mile. He takes deep breaths to steady himself as he leans sideways against the wall by his bed. It was another dream. The cool wall helps him focus.

The dream, like all the others he'd been having since the incident at the ministry, was startlingly lifelike, not that that was much of a surprise after all those dreams as Voldemort, but in these it seemed like it was him, not Voldemort. It was like dejá vu, he didn't remember any of this happening or who Kieran is - was, but everything seems so familiar, even the name. He knew what was happening for the duration of the dream, but once he woke up he could only remember what had happened during the dream.

Slowly he reaches between the wall and the bed to pull out a wireless notebook with a pen attached. He jots down all the details he can remember.

Once again Dumbledore brought up suspicion and wariness in Kieran a.k.a. Henry Matthew Riddle. All his memories - no, dreams; dreams, he tells himself - are of Kieran up until that meeting with Dumbledore and James Potter. That's as far in life Kieran got, apparently, before he was forced back into being an orphaned child, but this time around he wouldn't have a protective older brother.

_Kieran or Henry Matthew Riddle, did he even exist? Or is Voldemort up to his tricks again? I should be practicing Occlumency, but something's not adding up. Why would Voldemort fake having a little brother? And how and why does it feel so familiar? Not even running down that same corridor to the Department of Mysteries felt like dejá vu even after all those times I had dreamed about it. Voldemort wouldn't show any weaknesses, even if they were faked weaknesses, so why-?_ He sighs, replacing the memory-dream diary to its hiding spot, lying back down to try and get some sleep.

_I have chores to do tomorrow after all and then the day after that is my birthday._ Drifting off to sleep, he hears two little boys giggling happily.

_**AN: I hope this formatting is better than my previous. T-T These plotbunnies just keep attacking me! Now I have this new one that's black and white... no, seriously. It's called, 'In a World of Black and White'. **_

_**Who likes 'Yu-gi-oh!' ? Well, it has the yami/hikari feel to it... except everybody has a yin (yami) or yang (hikari). Those who don't are called the Broken (kinda like the Death Eaters, in fact... there are a bunch of DEs that are Broken) and it's the worst thing that could happen to someone, becoming a Broken. Without their other half they go insane. So whether it's just that they haven't found each other by their 30th birthday or their other half is dead, they go insane and join the Broken, who are unstable (d'uh) and go on killing sprees... that kill off those who aren't Broken... creating more Broken if they survive. Occasionally a really powerful person who is Broken becomes a leader and brings up a time known as Chaos. (Whee! Normal words with special connotations!) One such leader was Grindelwald before he was defeated and the last Broken to be in power was - you guessed it! - Voldemort. Little did they know Voldemort's other half hadn't been born yet. He was caught and imprisoned where no one would ever think to go, left to his insanity. BUT his other half was born that very day and the older his other half became, the less insane he became and soon his yang (hikari) turned 17, the age when they can start really looking for their foils. Poor hikari had been having dreams of floating along dark corridors to black doors that had no way of opening. So hikari-kun goes searching for the creepy place, knowing that that is where the yin to his yang is.**_


	2. Early Stages of Denial

**Binaries**

**By BEWD Sorcerer**

Disclaiming thingy: I do not own Harry Potter! I don't own Voldemort! I just string them up and play with them as puppets. Don't they dance so nicely?

**_AN: This is the second prologue type-chapter. One for Harry and then one for Voldie. Where I'm going to go after this, I'm not quite sure._**

_**The day I'm posting this is July 31, 2006, so… Happy Birthday, Harry!**_

_thoughts_

"Out loud speech, English"

_'Parseltongue'_

**:Link Speech: **Note: not L33t speak

**2. Early Stages of Denial**

_Tom Marvolo Riddle approaches someone in the Hogwarts library and sits down next to someone who looks shockingly like him._

"_Our names are so plain." The other boy just smiles a little at this, continuing to work._

"_Speak for yourself. Do you know any other Kierans? We didn't choose our names." Tom seems amused at the response._

"_It's just… I've been trying to think of an alternative." Kieran looks up._

"_What? Like a nickname or an anagram?" He continues working as Tom pulls out a piece of parchment that is completely covered in names, most of them crossed out._

"_Not a nickname because nothing like that fits me and with anagrams the only things I'm coming up with are stupid like 'Tiddle Vom Roloram.' I want it to be significant." The other looks at Tom quizzically before digging around in his bag._

"_Let's check my Language Dictionary." He pulls out a Muggle wireless notebook with a triumphant look, flipping it open and writing 'Tom Marvolo Riddle' on the first page, which appears blank, before he pulls out his wand and murmurs '**/Anagram**/' with a twitchy wave of his wand. Immediately words begin appearing down the lined paper and Kieran grins proudly at Tom, who just rolls his eyes and cuffs the other up side the head with a fond smile._

"_Alright, so it is brilliant. Thanks, Kieran." The other boy cocks his head in a curious manner._

"_We haven't even looked at the results yet." He seems amused as Tom shifts in a 'I'm a cold jerk but I've been caught being nice' kind of way. "Let's see here. You're right; these are all crap. Who'd want to call themselves 'Mev Lolodir Dotmar'? Uh-huh… Tiddle, Lolodir….. I am Tormloved Dorl. Me Dorvol Rilam Dot." Kieran snickers and Tom huffs._

"_Do you think we'll find something that's not completely stupid?" The other dark-haired boy makes a non-committal noise, continuing to flip through the pages now filled with funky words._

"_Ian? No, there's no 'n'. Iam? He he… No… I am… I am Lord… Lord what? I am Lord Tod Mevrol? Pffft! Volor Demt? Mort! You've got death in your name! I am Lord Mort Volde!" Kieran giggles at the dark look Tom's giving him._

"_You're having too much fun with this." The other just gives him a bright smile, jotting down 'vol' on the first page and mutters '**/meaning, any language/**' waving his wand with the same twitchy wave._

" '_De' in Romantic languages means 'of', so if 'vol' mean something other than a small, burrowing rodent then we'll have you a good anagram!" He pauses, cocking his head to the side again. "It means flight or wing in French. So you could be: death of flight, death of wing, wing of death, or flight of death." Tom thinks for a moment then grins smugly._

"_Flight of death sounds good; if I want to become the next dark lord, I'll consider it." Kieran grins broadly at Tom's sarcasm, putting the 'notebook' away._

"_If it's outlandish enough for you, then Voldemort it is!" Tom looks thoughtful, but Kieran has a mischievous look on his face. "I can just see it. 'No running in the halls!' There you are chiding your followers for being reckless. What if they ran into each other and got hurt? 'Hold the battle! This one's got a scraped knee!' 'Excuse me, Dumbledore, no one can use any spell worse than a Tickling Charm.' Brilliant, Tom, just brilliant." Tom scowls, getting a haughty look on his face._

"_Excuse me? If I were to attempt World Domination, Dumbledore'd be one of the first to go. All I'd have to do during the battle would be to offer him a poisoned lemon drop." Kieran is turning red from repressing his laughter. They are in a library after all._

"_You're right. Why didn't Grindelwald think of that?" Tom snorts before answering._

"_Probably because he was a – " He stops with a pained look on his face, but Kieran doesn't notice._

"_He was a big-headed, cold-hearted bastard who's head was permanently stuck up his arse." He finally notices something is wrong and looks over to see blood dripping from Tom's nose. "Tom, what's wrong? Tom!" Tom shakes himself, returning to the present._

"_What? What's going on?" Kieran pulls a handkerchief out of his bag._

"_You've got a nose bleed. Here, use this." Tom takes the handkerchief, still a little dazed, and Kieran gathers up his stuff. "C'mon. You'd better see Madame Lindsey." Tom blinks slowly at Kieran, then passes out, hearing the other yelling his name._

Voldemort lays on his bed, staring up at the canopy blankly and wondering where the hell that came from. He didn't know any Kierans. Why did he not remember any of this before now?

Could it be a plot to weaken him?

Why did Kieran look and sound so familiar? He had heard that voice just a few weeks ago. Where did he hear the voice? Wasn't it in the Ministry? The Atrium? But the only people who had been there were Dumbledore, Bellatrix, and the Potter boy.

It wasn't Dumbledore, obviously. He had been the Transfiguration teacher back then. Bellatrix is a female and her voice is all wrong. The Potter boy is far too young… though that could have been taken care of with a De-Aging Potion and any memories could be blocked by an Obliviate or any number of Dark Arts potions.

But who would want to create a Potter except Dumbledore? The fact that Dumbledore might use a Dark Arts potion… but he did mold Potter into a weapon.

Now he had to wonder if the Prophesy was even valid or if it was another effort to force Potter to accept his role as a tool.

Wait, why was he even pondering this? It's just a stupid dream that could be a possible plot against him. No worrying about the Potter boy and back to bed.

He turned over and closed his eyes, trying to banish the tightening in his chest when he thought of Dumbledore forcing potions down Kieran's throat. A tingle shuddered down the link between Harry and Voldemort. Harry was feeling confused and it gave Voldemort a headache.

"Shut up and go to bed, Potter. We don't need you keeping us up with your stupid worries." Voldemort forced himself to occlude his mind and slipped back into sleep.

AN: Voldie's all confused. 3 Foreshadowing can be such a pain.


	3. A Pause to Review

**Binaries**

**By BEWD Sorcerer**

Statement of not claiming: I don't own.

_**AN: **I had some difficulty with this chapter. Stupid tenses. Obviously some time has passed between the first chapter and this one. Harry's just thinking back over all he's learned so far. _

_thoughts_

"Out loud speech, English"

_'Parseltongue'_

**:Link Speech: **Note: not L33t speak

**3. A Pause to Review**

The dreams were disturbing and becoming more frequent, coming even during his waking hours whenever he started to drift off. Some were short flashes or even just one image of something or someone, while others could last hours. So far the Dursleys hadn't caught him when he was zoned out, but that could happen any day now.

If it kept up during the school year there might be problems. He hadn't even thought to tell Dumbledore. That man had lost his trust by keeping such important information from him. If he had but known, then Sirius might still be sending him letters, even if they were annoyingly short.

Between all the dreams and the questions they brought up, he hadn't had time to angst about Sirius; in fact, he'd hardly thought about him all summer. Every time his train of thought moved in the direction of his godfather another flashback would interrupt, almost as if to distract him from the fact that Sirius was dead.

Kieran wasn't more important than Sirius nor was Tom Riddle, despite the Prophesy that Dumbledore had told him, but his mind kept wandering back to the dreams.

They were so much like memories, first person perspective dreams that were so vivid that at times it was difficult to distinguish between reality and the dreams. Was he Kieran or Harry?

Memories of days at the orphanage with Tom Riddle were always so depressing and rather morbid, yet there was a strange lightness.

One of the more informative dreams had been when the two had asked the matron about their birth and she told them.

They were twin brothers. Tom was born first and named by their mother after their father and then their mother had died. The helpers had washed and fed Tom, while the matron cleaned up around the body when she had noticed movement within the corpse.

She had taken a kitchen knife and performed a Cesarean, taking the child from the womb directly. The matron had called him 'Kieran', though he was officially named Henry Matthew Riddle to not stand out. Kieran means 'dark one' and the whole orphanage believed him to be a demon because of the circumstances of his birth, but the matron had just shook her head at their superstitious notions. The dream had ended there and Harry pondered once again if these were real or just part of a plot.

The next dream showed when the Nazis had attacked London in the Battle of Britain. The matron had died, crushed by falling rubble as had many of the children and helpers. Kieran and Tom had survived because of their magic creating a barrier, preventing them from being flattened and then enabling them to shift the rocks enough to escape being buried alive in a broken tomb.

Afterwards when they heard that the new matron would be Mrs. Cole, they went and asked if they were going to be allowed to stay at the orphanage. Mrs. Cole didn't deny that she found the previous matron a little screwy in the head because she didn't find anything wrong with either Riddle, but she did acknowledge that she wouldn't – couldn't get rid of the two by law. After they left, Kieran and Tom swore to each other that they'd never get caught doing something bad, so they wouldn't get kicked out.

Because of their continued survival and living arrangements in the orphanage, the two Riddles had become even more outcast, but Mrs. Cole couldn't punish what she didn't see and the other orphans had no such qualms and terrorized them at every chance, enraging Tom and earning his ire.

A child named Billy (who had no last name because no one knew who his parents had been) had openly accused Kieran of being a demon though it was Tom who fought with him, claiming that his brother was no such thing. Billy had then said Tom must be a demon, too, being related to Kieran and all, using some very foul language to insult the brothers further.

Tom had been so angry that he had hung Billy's rabbit using magic that he wasn't supposed to have that much control over yet.

The other children, led by Amy Benson and Dennis Bishop, had ganged up on Kieran, thinking that he had been the one to hang the bunny, leaving the younger Riddle covered in bruises and cuts, with a broken arm.

Tom had been furious and in retaliation he took the two leaders into a seaside cave when they had gone on a sort of field trip and punished them.

They never did that again, in fact they couldn't stand to be in the same room with either Riddle, though Kieran hadn't harmed them in any way, not even when trying to escape the children during their attack.

Tom took something from each of the children who had helped in the attack on his little brother and they knew it, but were unable to do anything about it because of their utter terror of Tom's wrath.

Then Dumbledore had come, discussing the Riddle brothers with Mrs. Cole, while Kieran eavesdropped, not that anyone ever found out.

Dumbledore told Tom about Hogwarts first, then, after not-so-subtly threatening Tom for stealing from the other orphans, he had tracked down Kieran, who reacted coldly particularly when Dumbledore had asked him about Tom.

Kieran was just as protective of Tom as Tom was of him and both had noticed the Leaky Cauldron during their explorations of London, though they had never entered, wary of what kind of business the Leaky Cauldron was.

Dumbledore had offered to go with Kieran as he had Tom, but Kieran, like his brother, had stated they didn't need him.

The dream had ended here, but the next night it had picked up again.

After the auburn-haired man had left, Kieran quickly went to Tom's room and glomped him. They were ecstatic about being wizards and leaving the orphanage, so ecstatic that they went that very day to the Leaky Cauldron and crossed into Diagon Alley, purchasing most of their supplies secondhand because of necessity, though that hadn't made Tom feel any better.

They entered Ollivander's warily, glancing around quickly and trying to not look as nervous as they felt. After waiting a good five minutes, Mr. Ollivander greeted them by creeping up behind them, startling them so much that Kieran darted behind Tom, who stood his ground and glared.

The old wandmaker had just smiled; his eyes just as pale then as they were over half a century later. Out came the tape measure as Mr. Ollivander gave the same spiel about the different wands made, but he also told how long ago they had been made.

It took a long time, but eventually the pale-eyed man pulled out two wands that had been side-by-side. He had murmured that surely it couldn't be. The twins took the wands, waving them simultaneously and causing red and gold sparks shoot out of the wands, lighting up the dimly lighted shop with light so bright that the three present had to shield their eyes.

To say they were surprised would be an understatement. Ollivander told them that these two wands' cores had been from the same phoenix, who gave only those two feathers. Tom's was the same 13 ½ inch yew wand, but Kieran's was the achingly familiar 11 inch holly wand.

Harry jerked awake at this. How he could have the same wand had plagued Harry until he finally firmly told himself that this was all just a trick or trap to confuse and/or hurt him. It must be a plot, a lie, to do… something to him.

He set it aside, ignoring it. He'd be going to the Burrow soon. Maybe the dreams would stop. If they didn't, then Hermione might be of some help.

**_AN:_** _I may revamp and repost this later on, but for now here it is._


	4. Possibilities

**Binaries**

**By BEWD Sorcerer**

_Disclaimer: Harry Potter is not owned by me. If I owned him then he'd be on the floor._

_Get it? Owned? Pwned? C'mon!_

_**AN: **It's difficult writing when twins are speaking. – . – ;;_

_flashbacks _also thought of as dreams

_thoughts_

"Out loud speech, English"

_'Parseltongue'_

**:Link Speech: **Note: not L33t speak

**4. Possibilities**

Voldemort hissed in frustration, flopping back onto his bed. The dreams kept coming, increasing in number and frequency, and after every dream the Potter boy would feel confused. It seemed as if he was also being visited by dreams, though they could be different or it could just be a coincidence, very unlikely but a possibility.

Each dream made him think more and more of Potter and it was quickly becoming annoying. He didn't need any more reminders of the child than he already did.

His was so tired. Maybe staying up for the past three days wasn't the best idea.

"_It's a good thing we couldn't get a pet, isn't it?" Tom glanced at his brother perched beside him on the roof._

"_Yes. They can't kill a pet of ours in retaliation if we don't own one in the first place. You want one though, don't you?" Kieran smiled sadly._

"_It would have been nice, maybe some sort of snake so we could talk to it or a cat that we could pet and would seek us out for attention." Tom pulled Kieran into a sideways hug._

"_Maybe when we leave here for good or if we found a snake that likes us it could stay at Hogwarts without us during the summer." Kieran relaxed into the hug._

"_Wouldn't it get lonely?"_

"_If it had lived there its whole life, then it shouldn't be too much of a problem." They stay like that for a few minutes more. "It should be time." Kieran nods and they both get up, heading over to the ladder they had constructed to escape any would-be disturbers of their peace._

"Dammit!" Voldemort shot off the bed, glaring at it suspiciously before starting to pace.

_We hadn't been able to afford a pet after purchasing all the necessary supplies and a few important books like 'Hogwarts, A History' and two reusable paper charms that would shrink and resize our trunks on command, but we weren't too upset because that meant there wasn't anything that could be killed and we kept our shrunk trunks hidden at all times. _

He stopped pacing.

"These aren't real! The dreams are just that! Dreams! Fake! False! A plot to weaken me! Harry Potter is Harry Potter and always has been!" He raised his fists, still shouting.

"I have no other living relatives; I killed them, the father that abandoned our mother when he found out she was a witch, the grandparents who agreed with their son and didn't want anything to do with the witch's child even if I was their grandson, the uncle who was nothing but an inbred drunk that didn't put up any fight when under the Imperius and made kill the three Muggles! I have no brother nor have I ever had any siblings." He paused, making sure the Silencing Charms were still in effect. They were, so he could continue ranting to himself in peace.

"Dumbledore must be scheming again, thinking that if I believed Potter to be my brother I wouldn't want to kill him. I thought he knew that I've killed my other relatives, but he must not. I'll let him think his plan is working, then kill the Potter boy anyway." A gasp escaped as his chest tightened painfully.

"What spell is this? I think of killing Potter and my chest aches, my blood runs cold, my eyes burn. There is no spell that could cause this nor any potion." He collapses onto his bed, still pondering, but soon slips into dreamland.

_He wakes up, blinking open his eyes and noting that Kieran is once again in his bed. It's September 1st and time to get up if they want to make the train. Shaking his little brother awake, he gets out of bed, choosing their least ragged clothes to wear to the train then they could change into their uniforms._

_Kieran stretches as he gets out of bed, slipping on the clothes his brother hands him and pocketing his trunk and wand. They leave the room, going down to grab two rolls and remind Mrs. Cole that they'll be gone for the school year before heading out. Neither looks back._

_They arrive at King's Cross and immediately begin looking around. It's 9:00 and they don't see any Platform 9 ¾, though they do notice a rather large boy with his seemingly tiny father, trying to be inconspicuous and leaning against the barrier between platforms nine and ten. The twins watch closely, but right before their eyes the father and son simply vanish. One second they're there and the next they're gone. _

_Tom and Kieran share a look before strolling in front of the barrier. Kieran turns, meaning to just examine the suspicious architecture, but when he prods the wall, he simply falls through._

_Tom is alarmed and immediately moves to grab him, unintentionally going through the not-as-solid-as-it-seemed wall, only to find Kieran brushing himself off and standing under a sign that clearly said 9 ¾ for the Hogwarts Express._

_They share a flabbergasted glance before composing themselves and boarding the train, finding a compartment near the back that is deserted. Once there they pull their trunks out of their pockets, resizing them to pull their robes out, changing and then re-shrink the trunks, replacing them in their pockets. _

_There aren't very many people, but both twins agree it must be because they're two hours early. Settling down, they wait and watch. _

_Only a few minutes later a family of pointy-faced blonds arrives, looking very haughty in their entire well-dressed splendor, and what must be two more families that seem rather troll-like._

_Tom looks amused by this, but Kieran just rolls his eyes._

"_Peacocks guarded by trolls. I've never heard of such things." Kieran elbows his brother._

"_It must be a rather normal thing, since no one else seems surprised. I wouldn't be surprised if they're Purebloods, probably the Malfoys." Tom grins at his twin._

"_You did read Wizarding Politics and Culture then and I must say I agree." Kieran just nods and they turn back to watching families arrive. _

_Not ten minutes later they turn away from the window. It hurts to watch as their fellow students dismiss their parents so carelessly when they have no parents to see them off._

_No one has dared enter their compartment and they don't want to be disturbed. One pretty brunette, who looks about 15, almost does, but Tom glares at her menacingly and she quickly decides that it would be best not to._

_No one wants to be near someone who death glares at them, even if the glare is from someone who is obviously a first year._

_The train ride is a quiet affair with the two brothers sitting beside each other. A witch pushing a cart comes by and offers them candy around lunchtime. Tom buys four Pumpkin Pasties and a couple Chocolate Frogs for both of them._

_The Pasties are savored and it is Kieran that opens his Chocolate Frog first. The frog immediately springs into action, but Kieran has always been quick, so the sweet doesn't get far. When Tom opens his he's ready for the first leap._

_The sun is warm and both Riddles are so sleepy. They settle down for a short nap._

Voldemort snarls, but doesn't get up off the bed, just rolls over onto his stomach.

**:Why can't I just sleep in peace**?He groans, huffing when shock and confusion filter into his mind.

**:That's my line.:** Voldemort's eyes widen. Potter wasn't sleeping well either?

**:What are you going on about? Sending me dreams of a brother I never had.:** His chest constricts and hurt shimmers down their link followed by confusion.

**:I thought you were the one sending me fake dreams.:** He scoffs.

**:To lure you to the Ministry, I did, but what would I gain from sending you visions of my childhood: **

**:I don't know… sympathy:** Voldemort hisses, feeling Harry flinch.

**:What would I need sympathy from you for, Potter:** Silence and no small amount of confusion settles over the two. Neither was sending dreams to the other, so what could be causing these dreams?

**:I haven't been taking any experimental potions or doing any rituals. No other side effects have been noticed…:** He rolled onto his back, still thinking.

**:Do you think I should ask Dumbledore about them:** Voldemort sat up in shock and anger.

**:NO! What if he is the one who's doing it:** He could feel Harry raise an incredulous eyebrow.

**:What would he gain from me knowing all about your childhood:** Laying back down, he considers it for awhile, not coming up with anything.

**:What if he doesn't want you knowing? What if something happened and I really did have a twin brother named Kieran:** Harry thinks this over.

**:Why would I have dreams of only Kieran in Dumbledore's custody being questioned before force-fed potions to block his memories and turn him into a child:** Voldemort lay, stunned into silence.

**:Then it is possible that you are…. When did you have that dream:** Harry felt taken aback, debating whether he should answer or not.

**:That's the first one I had. It was about three weeks ago, right after I arrived back at the Dursley's.:** Voldemort nodded. Even though Harry couldn't see it, he could feel it and it was rather disturbing.

**:You had just made it back to your relatives' house and then you have a dream that could be a memory, the last memory of another life. I had just possessed you a few days prior, am I correct:** Harry growled, but nodded. Sirius had just died; Bellatrix had gotten away. **:Calm down. Did you have a headache:** He could feel Harry making a face in confusion.

**:Yeah… I still have one.: **

**:Of course. Muggle pain killers won't ease the pain of a cracked mind block.:** Harry snarled and would have glared at him, but mind speaking like this didn't allow that.

**:I wouldn't know. I've never had any Muggle pain killers**.: Voldemort snorted.

**:You grew up with Muggles. Don't tell me you never got hur** **- :** Harry's anger flared up again.

**:I have never had any Muggle pain killers! Not when Dudley used me as a punching bag, not when I burnt my hand when I was six cooking breakfast for them, not-:** Finally he interrupted.

**:You were abused as a child! The Wizarding World's Savior was allowed to be abused when he couldn't defend himself! Dumbledore's Golden Boy was beat up by his cousin? Did your aunt and uncle know:** He realized that was the wrong thing to say when he felt Harry's rage surge.

**:Did they know! They encouraged it! My room for the first eleven years of my life was the cupboard under the stairs! My Hogwarts letter was addressed to it: **Voldemort sputtered. **:When I came back from my first year I was locked in my cousin's second bedroom with no less than six different locks on the door, bars on the window, Hedwig locked in her cage, a cat flap on my door so they could gift me with cold canned soup and stale bread when they remembered I was there, and I was only allowed out of my room to use the bathroom twice a day! My trunk and wand were locked in the cupboard under the stairs! I had to rush to finish my homework after Ron, George, and Fred rescued me in their father's flying Ford Anglia:** Voldemort had trouble interrupting a second time, but he did.

**:They what:** He paused and Harry waited, feeling quite embarrassed by his outburst.

**:Sorry.:** Voldemort just waved it off, still thinking, leaving Harry bemused.

**:He doesn't care.:** Harry's bemusement vanished. **:That's why. If you are Kieran, then Dumbledore wouldn't care how you are treated by your Muggle… they're not your relatives, meaning there aren't any blood wards. In fact, he probably put you there as punishment.:** Voldemort shakes his head, trying to reason it out.

**:Punishment for what:** Harry is curious.

**:Being my brother? But that doesn't… I don't remember. Why don't I remember:** Astonishment and hurt filter down their link.

**:Remember what? You don't remember having a brother:** He sounds mournful, hurt.

**:No, I don't, but a memory blocking potion only affects the drinker, so why did I forget? Did he slip me something that made me forget all about having a twin brother:** Voldemort shakes his head again, feeling suddenly disgusted and ridiculous. **:I can't believe I'm even considering this. It's ludicrous.:** Harry started panicking.

**:What! You were just – What if it wasn't a potion? Is there a spell? Something else that could change you so much:** Voldemort sneered.

**:What are you talking about? I haven't chan - :** He paused, realizing something. **:You're remembering more.:** Harry was quiet for a moment in surprise.

**:I did, didn't I? You were talking about escaping death… about horcruxes: **

_Tom and Kieran were down in the Chamber of Secrets._

"_Kieran! We could live forever!" Kieran crosses his arms, glaring._

"_But all the books on soul magic say that the soul should always remain whole. There are drastic consequences for individuals with broken souls." _

"_But Kieran – " Tom argues, fighting between the want for acceptance from his brother and the need to assure they wouldn't die._

"_But nothing! Find. another. way!" Tom snarls, hands clenched tightly at his sides._

"_Well, sorry, I don't have a Philosopher's Stone handy!" Tom sneers, but his brother just sighs, calming down._

"_Even that has its flaws. You would still age, feeling more worn the longer you lived and you'd have to keep drinking the Elixir of Life to stay alive. All anyone would have to do is steal the stone and you'd be screwed." Tom huffs, but concedes and Kieran approaches his brother, hugging him tightly as their anger drains out of them._

"_I don't want to be weak, but I want to be lonely even less. If I find something, would you?" Tom wraps his arms around his little brother, chin resting on his brother's shoulder as he stares at the strange markings of Parselscript all along the walls._

"_As long as it doesn't have any funky side effects then I might consider it." Kieran sighs. Compromising is such a pain._

**:Did you – :**

**: - just have a flashback:**

**:Yes. We were in the – :**

**: - Chamber of Secrets.:** They both paused, then burst out in laughter.

**:I guess we are – :**

**: - twins, though this is – :**

**: - rather disturbing.:** They pause again, thinking.

**:Are you… still going to kill me:** Voldemort starts, surprised.

**:If you are my twin brother, then you weren't born at the end of July. You were – :**

**: - born on New Year's Day. We asked the matron – :**

**: - and she told us I was born at 11:59 pm on New Year's Eve and – :**

**: - I was born – :**

**: - seven minutes later at 12:06 am.:**

**:We were born – :**

**: - in different years, but we're – :**

**: - twins. How odd.:** They both laughed again, the older with a surprisingly deep chuckle and the younger with a rather embarrassing giggle.

**:We used to annoy so many people doing that.:** Harry grinned wickedly.

**:Drove the teachers up the walls when one of us would start to answer a question – :** Voldemort smirked.

**: - and the other would finish it. We got more points to Slytherin that way since we both knew the answer.: **Harry remembered something and pouted.

**:Except in Dumbledore's class.: **Voldemort sneered, feeling Harry's amusement die at the mention of Dumbledore.

**:He was stingy with the Slytherins, especially since we bested his precious Gryffindor's all time.:** Harry was quiet for a few minutes.

**:I think… we need to get some sleep. We need to think over all this. Try to figure out what happened.:** Voldemort sighed, knowing he was right, so they said goodnight and settled down in their respective beds, drifting off into a semi-restful sleep.

_**AN:** Ok, I can hear it now: why don't they just keep taking De-Aging Potions? De-Aging Potions cause a lot of stress and pain. _

_If taken too much, there is a build up. When there is too much build up, it kicks in and instead of the person being turned into a baby they continue on until they're only one cell and die._


	5. Nightmarish Memories

**Binaries**

**By BEWD Sorcerer**

Disclaimer: Owned, people! Laugh, dammit! Am I a good story teller? I better be cause this is just it, a story. I own the plotbunny that is currently perched on my head, sucking on my forehead. Freaking freakbunny.

_**AN: **Reviews may feed the plotbunnies leeched onto me, but your frustration at my teasing hints makes me giddy and speeds my writing and posting. So review and rant, so that I may post, cackling. _

_No one mentioned that Kieran teased Tom about naming himself 'death of a small burrowing rodent' in chapter 2... and in chapter three why their sparks were red and gold... though I'll tell you why. The cores are phoenix feathers, so the colors are derived from that._

Dammit. Toxic-Shadows figured it out. To you, I throw a large blueberry muffin, Toxic.

Said person will NOT tell any details to other people who can't put all my lovely obvious hints together on pain of no updates, so don't even try asking because I WILL find out.

_thoughts_

"Out loud speech, English"

_'Parseltongue'_

**:Link Speech: **Note: not L337 speak

**5. Nightmarish Memories**

_"Tom! What's going on? What's that noise?" Kieran shakes his brother awake. "Are they coming to bomb us again? Tom!" He finally gets up, looking around at his panicking brother and peacefully sleeping roommates._

_"Why are they still sleeping soundly?" Kieran shrugs, hugging Tom close. The older brother returns the hug, trying to ponder out what could cause air raid sirens in Hogwarts and why no one else seemed to hear them. Shouldn't they be up and panicking like Kieran? It reminded him of the Battle of Britain when they had woken up with no one else but the matron there. All the others had been taken away to shelter that hadn't held up very well anyway, but the fact that they had been left to die. It irked him.  
Kieran sobbed into Tom's chest, bringing him back to reality._

_"We should go find a teacher and ask. Maybe Professor Slughorn knows something? Surely a teacher would hear all this racket, though why we can and they not..." Kieran nodded, still holding tightly as they made their way out of their dorms, up the stairs and into a deserted Common Room. From there they took a small, hidden passageway next to the fireplace that led to the Potions Professor's private quarters, his living room to be exact. Tom knocked._

_"Professor Slughorn! Sir, there seems to be a problem! Professor!" He knocked again, harder, yelling louder. Damn the man and his lazy tendencies. He was about to knock again when the door creaked open. _

_No one was there. The fire in the fireplace was dim and it seemed like someone had rushed out in a hurry, judging by the upturned chair, sloppy mess left on the coffee table, and bumpy rugs leading to the door to the hallway. _

_"Professor!" Still no answer. The whole room exuded a lived in, left quickly air, even the portrait leading to the hallway was left open. Kieran shuddered against his older brother._

_"It smells funny out there." Tom sighed, rubbing a soothing hand on his brother's back as they headed toward the hallway. _

_Maybe Headmaster Dippet would know? Or at least they'd run into one of the patrolling teachers, prefects, or Head Children so they could ask._

_The siren sounded louder in the hallway, but they just had to bare it. No Muggles could be attacking, but why would... how could the Dark Lord have found where Hogwarts was located? There were so many enchantments hiding it that no one could find it unless invited. _

_They kept moving, slinking along in the shadows upwards. Where could everyone be?_

_They reached the ground floor before they saw anyone. Well, what used to be someone, nothing but a charred mess now. Both realized that they should probably be getting back to the safety of their dorms very quickly, but just as they turned around, a dark chuckle reverberated in the dark corridor to their left._

_Turning to face the threat, they both stood gaping when the perpetrator stepped into the moonlight._

_The Dark Lord had infiltrated Hogwarts._

_Two heavy-lidded red-orange eyes stared at the twins hungrily, sharp teeth flashed when he grinned. It was like seeing a starving wolf in the winter, all wild eyes, razor-sharp fangs, lanky hair, and lolling tongue. They were prey, weak prey with no back-up, Little Red Riding Hoods in grandmother's house, but there was likely to not be a rescuing huntsman._

_"Perfect. How strong you are! Full of vitality and magic." He licked his cracked lips and the twins shuddered, huddling together._

_**What big eyes you have!**_

_Kieran remembered the old fairy tale of Little Red Riding Hood and he knew that this was their version of it. The Dark Lord's eyes devoured them and it made them sick. Tom tried to glare, but he knew that they'd have no chance against the Dark Lord. It's why they hadn't tried running or attacking. They wouldn't get very far, especially with their muscles tensed in fear. _

_Instincts told them that the best course was to stay still. The Monster wouldn't attack until after he'd savored the moment long enough. Any attempt to fight back or escape would hurry him along and bring his wrath along with his hunger down upon them. If they had to, they could stall, but the likelihood of being saved in time was ridiculously low. Hogwarts would protect them if there was an air raid, but the she could do little to protect her children from other wizards, even if they were heirs to one of the Founders._

_**What big ears you have!**_

_The Dark Lord was, sadly, quite aware of what could happen if he lingered too long and could hear someone approaching, so he took one last long look at the picture the twins made, pitch black hair still sleep-mused, pale white skin unmarred, wide green eyes watching him in fear and anger, pale pink lips parted slightly in astonishment. They were identical in every way, beautiful waifs._

_**What big hands you have!**_

_Then he struck._

_They put up quite a fight, but he wasn't a Dark Lord for nothing and he was soon on his way out of the castle with two very precious burdens._

_**What a horribly big mouth you have!**_

Sitting up quickly, he gasped. Who had that been? He tried to focus; it was important. If he could figure out who that was, then it might be the puzzle piece that would make everything fit together, but it evaded him.

Something about a wolf-like creature, evil monster that would gobble up wizards in an instant, but they had survived, saved by someone who they disliked greatly. It was just a ploy to earn their trust, they thought, but none-the-less their 'savior' had defeated the beast and they hadn't been devoured.

His right shoulder and part of his neck ached fiercely.

What could it all mean? What had happened? He couldn't remember... maybe Tom did? But why did it feel so very pressing? It was important; they had to remember.

**:Tom:** No answer.

**:Tom! Voldemort! OI:** Still no answer, only chilling blankness. It gave him a bad feeling. Suddenly there was a thunderous noise, sounding like a herd of elephants was tromping up the stairs, and then a banging on his door.

Was it the Order of the Phoenix, come to get him for conversing with the enemy? No, how could they know he was talking to Vold - Tom? Could it be his uncle, coming to yell at him for being a freak?

Finally they must have gotten tired of waiting because they wrenched open his door.

_**AN:** Cliffhanger because I need to ponder how I'm going to do this next part. I also need to work on my other stories. _

_In the mean time, the Zerg are attempting to eat my brain. _


	6. Once Again Saved By the Enemy

**Binaries**

**By BEWD Sorcerer**

Disclaimer: If I owned Harry Potter, then we'd love it even more, but since I don't, we have to settle for fanfiction.

**_AN: So far FIVE people have figured who 'G' is. To those five people I give muffins and they are: Toxic-Shadows (who has already received her muffin, but she gets another one for entertaining me so much. It makes me write new chapters much faster.), Krystina Black, Dream Killer, PxW, and Nanashi Sonzai._**

_**We've finally gotten into already written encounters. For the most part, they won't change like the dialogue, but Harry needs to sound out some people.**_

**_Another set of plotbunnies have attacked me and I'll be writing and posting them soon enough. Hint: think furry again._**

_thoughts_

"Out loud speech, English"

_'Parseltongue'_

**:Link Speech: **Note: not L337 speak

**6. Once Again Saved By the Enemy**

Someone burst into his room, making him jump, but it was only Dudley, looking very scared.

"Th-there's someone at the door for you." Cold dread seeped into his heart.

"What do they look like?" Dudley's face, which had previously red from rushing up the stairs, drained to white.

"Funny, but in the bad way." Harry snarled and Dudley flushed, embarrassed.

"That could be anyone, Dudley! Does he have a long white beard? Or does he look like a snake?" Dudley sputtered.

"He has a white beard and small spectacles." Great, the bumblebee has decided to visit. His trunk was packed, but he sorely wished for one of those reusable paper charms. Why didn't he have one? Oh, that's right. Because you had to go down Knockturn Alley to get to the funny little Asian shop that sells them. Damn Dumbledore and his idiotic ideas of good and evil.

He tromped down the stairs, snarling and scaring Dudley, but when he got to the bottom of the stairs he noticed the tense silence and chilly aura exuding from the sitting room. They must have moved to a more 'comfortable' area.

Sighing, he put on the mask of a good little pawn and entered with Dudley coming in a moment later to sit between his parents. Harry took a seat in the only other armchair, looking convincingly surprised and interested.

Dumbledore twinkled at him, making him fight to restrain a twitch, and began explaining that Harry had been invited to the Burrow and if he would come with him to see an old friend. Harry didn't have much of a choice, so he went along with it and then Dumbledore produced refreshments, still twinkling. He pretended to take a sip of it, immediately after asking who they'd be going to see.

The older wizard's twinkle just brightened before assuring him that he'd find out later. He hadn't changed a bit. For several long moments Dumbledore sat, drinking his mead, and enjoying himself. Harry wanted to rip his throat out.

"Well, Harry, a difficulty has arisen which I hope you will be able to solve for us. By _us_, I mean the Order of the Phoenix. But first of all I must tell you that Sirius's will was discovered a week go and that he left you everything he owned." 'Harry' wanted to laugh. The old coot was such a foolish bastard, bringing up Sirius's death like that. He barely acknowledged his uncle's sudden interest. "This is, in the main, fairly straightforward. You add a reasonable amount of gold to your account at Gringotts, and you inherit all of Sirius's personal possessions. The slightly problematic part of the legacy - " Vernon interrupted, but Harry just zoned it all out.

Why did he keep reminding him? It must be because of Grimmauld Place. He wondered if he could get Voldemort to burn it down. Dumbledore was talking to him again.

" - left you number twelve, Grimmauld Place." Vernon showed how greedy he was, but once again Harry ignored them, trying to get a hold of his twin. What was this aching cold in his chest?

"Harry?" He refocused on Dumbledore with haunted eyes.

"You can keep using it as headquarters. I don't care. You can have it, I don't really want it." If he never set foot in that place again, it would still be too much. The memories of Sirius skulking around the house he hated so much would never leave him.

"That is generous. We have, however, vacated the building temporarily." He knew he was required to ask the stupid question, but it didn't make him any happier. So he did and ignored the subsequent boring lecture until he was forced to reply.

Bellatrix live in the Most Noble House of Black? What did he care? Sirius hated the place, but Dumbledore would expect some sort of childish display of anger, so he leapt up and denied it.

"Well, obviously we would prefer that she didn't get it either. The situation is fraught with complications. We do not know whether the enchantments we ourselves have placed upon it, for example, making it Unplottable, will hold now that ownership has passed from Sirius's hands. It might be that Bellatrix will arrive on the doorstep at any moment. Naturally we had to move out until such time as we have clarified the position." Dumbledore may have looked calm, but underneath it, he was pleased.

"But how are you going to find out if I'm allowed to own it?" Really an important question. The bumblebee took his time replying, setting his empty glass on a small table beside his chair.

"Fortunately, there is a simple test." Vernon finally gave in and demanded that the glasses bouncing off their heads be stopped. Funny what lengths it takes to get a Muggle to willingly allow magic to be done in their presence. Dumbles chastised them for being rude and 'Harry' had to resist the need to sneer and laugh. His family was finally getting what was coming to them, but it was Dumbledore doing it. He wished Tom was there.

"You see," the old coot finally got back around to answering, "if you have indeed inherited the house, you have also inherited – " He flicked his wand and with a loud crack a house-elf appeared. Not just any house-elf, but a very familiar snout-nosed, giant bat-eared, enormous bloodshot-eyed, filthy house-elf that crouched on the Dursley's shag carpet in all his ill-temper. Petunia shrieked, Dudley tried to get away, and Vernon shouted, but 'Harry' watched closely as Kreacher was forced to crouch.

Kreacher had been another who had assisted in his luring to the Ministry. If Kreacher hadn't left Grimmauld Place and told Bellatrix of his attachment to Sirius, then Sirius might still be alive. If only Snape hadn't taunted Sirius so much, if only Tom had started remembering earlier, but it is no use. Sirius is gone, devoured by monstrous drapery. Maybe he could shove Bellatrix through the Veil…

"Kreacher belongs to Miss Bellatrix, oh yes, Kreacher belongs to the Blacks, Kreacher wants his new mistress, Kreacher won't go to the Potter brat, Kreacher won't, won't, won't – "

"As you can see, Harry," said the bumblebee over Kreacher's continued croaks of "won't, won't, won't," "Kreacher is showing a certain reluctance to pass into your ownership." Maybe he could shove Kreacher in after Bellatrix…

"I don't care," 'Harry' replied, looking with disgust at the writhing, stamping house-elf. "I don't want him."

"You would prefer him to pass into the ownership of Bellatrix Lestrange? Bearing in mind that he has lived at the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix for the past year?" Why didn't they get rid of him earlier, then, if he was going to be such trouble? Why didn't Sirius chuck him out or make him work elsewhere before they made Grimmauld Place into headquarters?

"_Won't, won't, won't, won't_ – " Surely he knew how much of a pain Kreacher would be later? The old coot wouldn't want him to get rid of Kreacher, sadly.

"Give him an order. If he has passed into your ownership, he well have to obey. If not, then we shall have to think of some other means of keeping him from his rightful mistress." Could he kill him? That'd make him much happier. Kreacher would most likely rather die than have to obey him, so all would be well. They could even cut off his head and mount it beside his mother's.

"_Won't, won't, won't, WON'T_!"

The dirty little annoyance's voice had risen to a scream and 'Harry' could think of nothing to say, except, "Kreacher, shut up!" For a moment Kreacher appeared to be choking, grabbing at his throat, mouth still working furiously, eyes bulging, but after a few moments of frantic gulping he threw himself forward and beat with his hands and feet upon the floor in a completely silent, yet violent tantrum.

"Well, that simplifies matters," Dumbledore chirped. "It seems that Sirius knew what he was doing. You are the rightful owner of number twelve, Grimmauld Place and of Kreacher."

"Do I – do I have to keep him with me?" 'Harry' asked, aghast, as Kreacher thrashed around at his feet.

"Not if you don't want to," said Dumbledore. "If I might make a suggestion, you could send him to Hogwarts to work in the kitchen there. In that way, the other house-elves could keep an eye on him." 'Harry' didn't really care what happened to Kreacher, as long as he didn't have to deal with him much.

"Yeah," said 'Harry' in relief, "yeah, I'll do that. Er – Kreacher – I want you to go to Hogwarts and work in the kitchens there with the other house-elves." Kreacher, who was now lying flat on his back with his arms and legs in the air, gave Harry one upside-down look of deepest loathing and, with a loud crack, vanished.

"Good," Dumbledore said. "There is also the matter of the hippogriff Buckbeak. Hagrid has been looking after him since Sirius died, but Buckbeak is yours now, so if you would prefer to make different arrangements – " With much difficulty, 'Harry' repressed a snarl, only now did they tell him about this.

"No," Harry stated at once, "he can stay with Hagrid. I think Buckbeak would prefer that."

"Hagrid will be delighted," said Dumbledore, smiling; twinkle going full blast. "He was thrilled to see Buckbeak again. Incidentally, we have decided, in the interests of Buckbeak's safety, to rechristen him 'Witherwings' for the time being, though I doubt that the Ministry would ever guess he is the hippogriff they once sentenced to death. Now, Harry, is your trunk packed?" Snapping at the old coot would not be good right now, or any time, but the cold emptiness that he was sensing from his twin was making him agitated.

"Yes, actually, I do." Dumbledore looked a bit surprised, then 'suggested' that he go get his stuff because they would be leaving shortly. So up the stairs he went, grabbing his trunk (containing all of his belongings including his Firebolt) and Hedwig in her cage before returning to the sitting room reluctantly, where the headmaster still sat. Once Harry had reclaimed his seat, Dumbledore turned to speak to the Dursleys once more.

"As you will no doubt be aware, Harry comes of age in a year's time – " Petunia interrupts, but 'Harry' zones out again, calling to his twin and still only receiving the cold. It was soon doubled because of Dumbledore's reactions to the Dursleys, but 'Harry' remained introverted, trying again and again. Then he heard something about having to return here once more before his seventeenth birthday and focused back on Dumbledore, noticing the uncomfortable and confused Dursleys.

"Well, Harry… time for us to be off," said Dumbledore, standing up and straightening his long black cloak. "Until we meet again," he said to the Dursleys, who looked as though that moment could wait forever as far as they were concerned, and after doffing his hat, he swept from the room. Harry followed, not even acknowledging the Dursleys, as the older wizard paused by Harry's trunk and Hedwig in her cage.

"We do not want to be encumbered by these just now," he said, pulling out his wand again. "I shall send them to the Burrow to await us there. However, I would like you to bring your Invisibility Cloak… just in case." 'Harry' tugged a corner out of his inside jacket pockets to show that he already had it and Dumbledore beamed at him, causing 'Harry' to scowl internally. Dumbledore waved his wand and the trunk, cage, and Hedwig vanished, then he waved his wand again, and the front door opened onto the cool, misty darkness.

"And now, Harry, let us step out into the night and pursue that flighty temptress, adventure." He turned heading out the door, so he missed 'Harry' rolling his eyes.

_**TBC…**_

_**AN:** Phew! Finally! T - T I hate having to write between the lines. XP _


	7. Familiar Face?

**Binaries**

**By BEWD Sorcerer**

Disclaimer: If I owned Harry Potter, then we'd love it even more, but since I don't, we have to settle for fanfiction.

_**AN: #munches on a banana nut muffin# - Yummy muffins.**_

**_Formatting for this chapter is a little odd. T-T It looks so neat in pen and in Word, but... ff dot net makes it look plain. #pout# We've finally gotten into already written encounters. For the most part, they won't change like the dialogue, but Harry needs to sound out some people. The perspective is a little funny; please bear with me. T - T_**

_**Another set of plotbunnies have attacked me and I'll be writing and posting them soon enough. Hint: this time think dressy.**_

_**I'm assuming that everyone reading this has read HBP? Otherwise you are going to be so lost. This story is as canon as I can make it, weaving between the published word and what is assumed by us readers. XD**_

_**#flash# **_

_**/spell/**_

_**#thoughts#**_

"Out loud speech, English"

_'Parseltongue'_ Parseltongue in a dream or memory will not be in italics.

**:Link Speech: **Note: not L337 speak

**7. Familiar Face?**

**Voldemort's POV**

A brother I don't remember, how can this be? I have two sets of memories, one true and one false. The question is: which is which? No one can lie to me and get away with it, not Snape nor Dumbledore, but especially not someone whose mind is an open book.

How could I forget Kieran? It pains me to remember all that happened. Everything was going fine until… something. I can't remember what happened.

_**#flash#**_

_"Tom! What's going on? What's that noise? Are they coming to bomb us again? Tom!"_

_**#back#**_

It was during an attack… on Hogwarts, but whom _– hungry, red orange eyes –_ what attacked? Back then, who were they afraid of? Which _– sharp, yellow teeth bared in a cruel smile –_ Dark wizard?

I can't remember and I become all the more confused the more I try to focus.

_**#flash#**_

"_What are we going to do?" Kieran hisses so quietly so that the Beast cannot hear him, shivering, shuddering, quivering body of my little brother against mine._

_**#back#**_

The creature had found us and we were helpless, stood there, huddling together. It was so cold; **he** made it cold. We didn't stand a chance.

_**#flash#**_

_The hungry wolf set upon us, knocking us out._

_**#back#**_

He took us out of Hogwarts, far out into the Forbidden Forest. Then he set up the ritual and secured the area. We woke up while **he** was off putting up wards.

_**#flash#**_

"_Kieran! Wake up! WAKE UP!" My hissing must have finally woken him. Kieran's body spasms; he shakes his head, coming to, then he looks up so confused, blinking in the torchlight._

"_Tom? What's going on? What – " His eyes go wide as he stares, horrified at something out of my field of vision. "Tom! He's behind you!"_

_**#back#**_

**He** conducted the ritual; long incantations growled out in a slow, smug hum. By the end, there was blood everywhere; we were in such pain.

_**#flash#**_

_Kieran tied to a stake with tears running down his face, reaching out with one free arm desperately trying to get across the clearing to Tom._

_**#back#**_

Then the pain worsened and everything went red, fading to black.

When we woke, we were in the infirmary. Dumbledore had found us and killed our kidnapper, but we still didn't trust him. He always has been a manipulator.

_**#flash#**_

"_I'm so glad that I was able to get there in time before one of you was killed; what is one twin without the other?" Dumbledore hovered triumphantly over Tom's hospital bed, where Kieran and Tom huddle under the sheets._

_**#back#**_

I could never forget _– red, red everywhere; pouring from Kieran whose whole right shoulder to neck dripped the scarlet liquid –_ what happened that night, even to the point of continuous nightmares where **he** went further, where he took from me what is most precious.

Retracting within myself, I went on, slipping further and further away from everything and everyone.

They all noticed, but only Kieran would – could – did something about it. He was there _– worried, green eyes –_ for me, comforting and warm. That's when we started sleeping in the same bed again, just like we had when we were younger.

_**#flash#**_

_So close together that if someone had seen us, they wouldn't have been able to tell us apart. They never could, but they'd really have no chance now._

_**#back#**_

Some of Hogwarts inhabitants had the impression that I had been the slightly more dominant or extroverted one, so when Kieran played the part most couldn't tell the difference.

Not long after that I started having blackouts just a few at first, then increasing in number and length, making Kieran worry all the more.

_**#flash#**_

"_Do you have any clue why that happened?" Kieran asks, sitting on the bed beside his twin._

"_I got… a headache… like someone had driven a pike through the back of my scull and then there was this hissing – "_

"_What! Like Parseltongue?" Tom winced when he shook his head._

"_No, like a human hissing in my ear. It was going on and on about how it had failed, but was given a second chance because of it's quick thinking and something about a horcrux?" They both looked puzzled._

"_What's a horcrux?"_

"_I don't know, but I don't think we should ask anyone. We should check the library first." Together they nod decisively, then Kieran helps Tom up so they can go check out the library._

_**#back#**_

Until the day he finally took over. Only now do I see what happened, all the horrible things he's done in my body. There are too many to count, especially to Kieran.

_**#flash#**_

_The twins are sitting in the common room, doing homework when they are approached by a group of their seedy looking peers. Kieran notices them first._

'Tom?'

_"Hm?" He looks up at his twin, following his gaze to the group. "Oh, have a seat." They do so, making Kieran lean over to hiss in Tom's ear._

'Tom! What are you talking about? These are the bastards who cause us so much grief!' _He stops to glare at the other Slytherins._

'They've seen the error of their ways and have apologized. They're not so bad.' _Tom doesn't even pause in his work._

'You swore you'd never let them live it down after they covered our beds in stinksap first year. You said they'd rot in hell before you made polite conversation with them after they stole our book bags and hung them like mistletoe at the doors of the Great Hall in second year. When they locked us out of the castle in third year, you were ready and willing to tear down the entrance to get at them but Professor Merrythough happened by and let us in.' _Kieran narrows his eyes, looking over his twin critically._ 'Fine, but don't let them hurt you.' _He snatches up his things, leaving the common room completely._

_"What's with him?" One of the Slytherins asks, but Tom just shrugs, leaning forward._

_"He's just being anti-social. Now, what have you got?"_

**#shift#**

'There you are. Come, my queen basilisk. We must continue Salazar Slytherin's noble work.' _Tom turns away._

'Tom! What the hell is wrong with you! You're a completely different person. It's almost as if you're… possessed.' _Kieran stops to think about his realization. **#Could… could he be possessed? But by what? Whom?#** He waits just a little too long._

_"That's enough! **/Stupefy/"** A red jet of magic hits Kieran in the chest, causing him to collapse._

_**#back#**_

All the things…

_**#flash#**_

_Kieran approaches Tom in a deserted common room. "Tom, you've changed." He watches as his brother works jerkily._

"_As have you," Tom snaps, still working._

"_Yes, but I for the better and you for the worse."_

"_What's wrong? Can't stand how you used to be?"_

"_I was never cold or distant to you. I never snapped at you for nothing. What happened? Everything has changed since G - " His mouth continued, but the sound of the word was gone like someone had stolen the word. " - was defeated." Tom finally quits working, glaring up at Kieran._

"_Well, of course everything's changed! A great dark lord – " Kieran's eyes widen and Tom quickly forges on. " - a tyrant has been brought down. You expect a peaceful time to be the same as wartime?" _

"_Tom, you're planning on becoming the next dark lord!" Tom has looked away and Kieran is shaking slightly in his shock. "I know you think mum was weak to have succumbed to death, but going so far as to hurt other people unnecessarily, to create more orphans to crowd those shit-holes we had to grow up in. What could have happened to have changed your mind so drastically that you'd toss aside all your morals you so rigorously upheld all your life until – you met G - " He paused, putting together the pieces._

"_So glad you finally figured it out – for the second time, that is. When Blunderbore destroyed my body I had already made Tommy-boy here into my horcrux. His will is of no importance to me; I am the one in control, but I can't let you go blabbing and no matter how many times I obliviate you, you will probably always come to the realization that, no, I'm not Tommy, your darling big brother, so **/obligatus/**. You now can't speak to anyone unless I give you that privilege, not that it will matter much. We're graduating in two days and you're not exactly the most forthcoming to anyone besides your dear brother. You also can't leave any building without me, so prepare yourself to live with me and die with me and since I have gone farther than anyone else to achieve immortality that's not going to be anytime soon." Tom-not-Tom smirks as Kieran scowls darkly._

"_You better find something quick or you'll end up quite dead much sooner than you expect." Tom-not-Tom growls, pulling Kieran to him by the front of his shirt._

"_Is that a threat?" He growls, staring hatefully into angry, green eyes._

"_So glad you can still recognize me as what I am." Kieran snarls right back, glaring into eyes no longer like his own._

"_You won't be for much longer."_

"_Can't kill me as my twin and bound to me, dumbass."_

"_Kill? No, that'd be too merciful."_

_**#back#**_

I spent all my time when I was myself trying to protect him. Even now he is still all I have. If – When he remembers everything, will he be able to forgive me? All of these transgressions… _- Kieran chained to the bed, crying out -_ can he? I've done such horrible things… _- blood running in rivers down Kieran's back -_ because of **him**.

_& You would have done that anyway. &_

No, I wouldn't! He's my brother!

_& You had already done some things that normal brothers don't do by the time you lost control. &_

I wouldn't have forced him! He's all I have… all I had.

_& He'll come back to you; if you but ask, I'm sure. &_

I…

_& Ask him. He'll come running back to our open arms. &_

**#Wait a minute… #** Our?

_&…&_

You! You're the one who made all these bad things happen! Get! Out!

_& I don't think so, Tom. I've settled down so nicely and have already made a name that everyone fears with your looks. Just because you've demanded it, doesn't mean you're going to get it, child. I'm not your darling little brother, after all. &_

Don't talk about him like that! I'm no child and if you don't get out, then I'll make you leave!

_& You think you can? Your body has accepted me as a part of you. There's no chance that you could force me out. &_

I'll find a way! **#When we possessed Kieran, I shook loose his hold even if it was for just a little while. I bet if we merged again Kieran could eradicate him.#**

High-pitched laughter echoes. _& That's rich, but enough dawdling; it's time to put you asleep again. &_

What? I won't let you do that! **#Salazar! Who is he!#**

_& Too bad. Goodnight, Tommy-boy. &_

**#Oh no. He's G - #**

'**Harry's POV**

"Oh dear. Oh dear, dear, dear."

I wrench my head up from where it had leant while I had zoned out. Something really bad had happened to Tom and now I have a few more hints.

Someone – no, something had possessed Tom, forcing him into unconsciousness for sixty-odd years. Now I just have to figure out how **he** did it, who **he** is, and how to force a merging. Could I possibly possess Voldemort? How dare that beast take the name we had so cheerfully chosen for Tom! It was just going to be a joke, but now…

"Wand out and follow me, Harry." Bumblebore's command breaks me from my thoughts. Up the garden path and through the doorway we go and then down the hallway to a door on the left leading to a sitting room.

Devastation meets our eyes. Broken glass and wood splinters everywhere. There's blood on the wall, a smashed grandfather clock and an overturned piano litter the room with more glass and keys. Feathers from pillows and overturned chairs lay scattered across the room.

At first glance I believe there to be no one here, but then a breathing chair catches my attention. Upon closer inspection I see that the 'chair' is really a rather familiar (if much older) person. This someone had been a source of information and praise to us when we first went to Hogwarts. Maybe he'll be of some assistance now as well…

The man is still pretending to be an overturned chair, so Dumbles plunges the tip of his wand into the 'seat' of the 'chair,' causing 'it' to jerk and yell, "Ouch!"

His pretense of being a chair vanished as he remained crouched if a bit aggravated and stunned at the casual gall the Headmaster had in greeting him so calmly.

I remain calm as the enormously fat, bald, old man and Dumbles chat despite the itching desire to pounce and do anything even strangle the ex-potions teacher to get the information about Tom's predicament if I have to. If anyone besides Dumblefuck and the Beast knew what is wrong with Tom, it will be this fat pushover fixing what he has just broken to try and avoid any wizards.

Finally he sees me and recognizes me by my scar.

**#No one will ever recognize who I really am. No one except Tom really knew. I am not Harry Potter, but I will defeat the Dark Lord just not for the reasons they believe. I will get my brother back and neither Bumblebore nor his Roasting Chickens will get in my way. All I need to know is if Slughorn, Ron, Hermione, and Lupin can or will help me.#**

I flick some hair out of my face, making my scar more visible.

**#If you don't recognize me for me, then I will use my famous facade to lure you in and swear/coerce you into assisting me, whether you know it or not!#**

I follow Slughorn's eyes to Dumbledore's injured hand and internally sneer.

**#I hope that is hurting you badly, old man. You'll be hurting much more when I'm through with you. The Beast wouldn't have come hunting in Hogwarts if you hadn't been there.#**

Then I notice the ring on the Headmaster's uninjured hand.

**#No! The Gaunts' ring, why - how - where did he find that? The ring that Tom - no, the Beast mascarading as Tom came back with after killing our Uncle Morfin and the Riddles.#**

I ignore Dumblefuck's not-so-subtle manipulations. It will be much easier to trick Slughorn into giving up illegal information if he returns to Hogwarts anyway.

"Professore Umbridge ran afoul of our centaur herd. I think you, Horace, would have known better than to stride into the forest and call a horde of angry centaurs 'filthy half-breeds'."

"That's what she did, did she?" Idiot woman. Never liked her." So maybe it isn't just the all the teachers and the entire student body of Hogwarts sans the Slytherins, though I did catch many of the Slytherins giving her dirty looks behind her back, even after being made part of the Inquisitorial Squad.

I chuckle, causing the other two wizards to look round at me and I immediately shift from evilly amused to pleasantly surprised at being amused. The other two give me a scrutinizing look to which I remain innocent.

"Sorry, it's just - I didn't like her either." Dumbledork must have taken this as a sign to let me work my charm as he stands, leaving a disappointed Slughorn to my care, to go to the bathroom.

Slughorn's uneasy resistance makes me smile, though internally I am frantically thinking of how I can steer a conversation that hasn't even stared yet onto the subject of brilliant old students. He finally notices something other that the famous lightening bolt scar.

"You look very like your father."

"That is what I've been told," I sigh. Of course that would be what this old buffer would start a conversation with.

"Except for your eyes. You've got - "

"My mother's eyes," I sit forward a bit. "I've seen someone else with very similar eyes though. It was in my second year. Did you happen to hear about that?" Slughorn looks pale as he nods his head slowly and I put on an innocently surprised face.

"You heard about the reopening of the Chamber of Secrets? About how a diary possessed a girl and had her set the basilisk upon the muggleborns?" Slughorn nods again, looking slightly sick but unable to wrench his gaze from my face.

"I'm confident that you know how Tom managed that? you were one of his teachers back then, weren't you?" More numb nodding from the old potions teacher makes me smile again.

"Please tell me, sir. If you have any information that could help me defeat the Dark Lord, please give it to me. I need all the help I can get and if you told me something that was helpful, I'd be eternally grateful... " Having the 'Boy-Who-Lived' in debt to him, what a juicy fly more succulent than any other coming the spider's way, but still Slughorn hesitates.

"Think about it, but in the mean time you should come back to Hogwarts. I'm sure plenty of students will be interested in what Snape has to say about the Dark Arts." Slughorn shifts uncomfortably. "You taught my parents, didn't you?" He nods, brightening.

"You shouldn't have favorites as a teacher, of course, but she was one of mine. your mother," Slughorn seems not to notice my sigh. "Lily Evans. One of the brightest I ever taught. Vivacious, you know. Charming girl. I used to tell her she ought to have been in my House. Very cheeky answers I used to get back too." It might not be so bad if Lily had been my mother, but the Beast took that from me too. Slughorn goes on to talk about Sirius, but a memory decides to make its appearance.

_**#flash#**_

_Slughorn sitting behind his desk, eating crystallized pineapple, Tom and me on the other side._

_"You two are the stars of my collection, the crown jewels. Neither is greater than the other; both revolving together to shine equally, like binaries." Tom and I smile at each other._

_"Twin stars, sir?" Slughorn beams at us._

_"Yes, twin stars. There's an old legend about twins, you know. It says that twins will have everything equal whether it be power, beauty, prestige, whatever. Both will be equal."_

_**#back#**_

"Thought she must have been pure-blood, she was so good."

"One of my best friends is Muggle-born and she's the best in our year." **#I wonder if I'll be able to say that when they know... will they stick with me? Or will they believe me insane and side with Dumbledork?#**

"Funny how that sometimes happens, isn't it?" says Slughorn.

"Not really," I say coldly. **#I don't know their position currently, but they're still my friends, despite some of our fights.#**

Slughorn looks down at me in surprise. "You mustn't think I'm prejudiced! No, no, no! Haven't I just said your mother was one of my all-time favorite students? And there was Dirk Cresswell in the year after her too - now Head of the Goblin Liaison Office, of course - another Muggle-born, a very gifted student, and still gives me excellent inside information on the goings-on at Gringotts!"

He bounces up and down a little, smiling in a self-satisfied way, and pointed at the many glittering photograph frames on the dresser, each peopled with tiny moving occupants.

"All ex-students, all signed. You'll notice Barnabas Cuffe, editor of the Daily Prophet, he's always interested to hear my take on the day's news. And Ambrosius Flume, of Honeydukes - a hamper every birthday, and all because I was able to give him a introduction to Ciceron Harkiss, who gave him his first job! And at the back - you'll see her if you just crane your neck - that's Gwenog Jones, who of course captains the Holyhead Harpies... People are always astonished to hear I'm on first-name terms with the Harpies, and free tickets whenever I want them!"

This thought seems to cheer him up enormously. He really hasn't changed in all these years.

"And all these people know where to find you, to send you stuff?" I ask slyly, knowing that his response will be negative since there haven't been any Death Eater visits. If the Beast remembers, then Slughorn will definitely be a dead man since he was the one who told us about horcruxes. I sigh internally because I know asking him a second time will be much harder than the first, especially since Tom was the one to ask the first time around.

His smile slides from his face not unlike the blood had less than an hour ago.

"Of course not," he finally says, looking down at me. "I have been out of touch with everybody for a year." He seems rather shocked and unsettled by this forced realization.

"Still... the prudent wizard keeps his head down in such times. All very well for Dumbledore to talk, but taking up a post at Hogwarts just now would be tantamount to declaring my public allegiance to the Order of the Phoenix! And while I'm sure they're very admirable and brave and all the rest of it, I don't personally fancy the mortality rate - " It sounds just like something he'd say with all his self-preservation instincts, but back then he had been the only one trustworthy.

"It's not required that you be in the Order to teach at Hogwarts. It wasn't like that fifty odd years ago, nor anytime after that. Most of the teachers aren't in it, and none of them have ever been killed - well, unless you count Quirrell, and he got what he deserved seeing as he was working with the Dark Lord." Slughorn gave me an odd look for calling him the name normally only heard from his followers.

"And it's not like you're going to be teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts; that's going to be Snape's job this year, isn't it?" Slughorn nods, looking a little bemused.

"The staff are safer than most people while Dumbledore's headmaster; he's supposed to be the only one the Dark Lord every feared, isn't he?" Dumblefuck is a trouble magnet, but hearing me say this will encourage Slughorn and keep Dumbfuck confident in his delusional belief that I am on his side.

Slughorn gazes of into space for a moment or two, seeming to be thinking over my words.

"Well, yes, it is true that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named has never sought a fight with Dumbledore," he murmurs grudgingly and I resist snarling. He was never scared of saying the Beast's real name, but he can't utter a name he knows that we jokingly made up. He probably doesn't want to remember that time we told him about it, a happy time with the future puppet of the Dark Lord and his tragic brother. I resist all outside reactions to these thoughts.

_**#flash#**_

_"Voldemort? Where did that come from, if I may ask?" Slughorn wears a bemused smile as I clap a hand over my mouth to hold in the laughter._

_"I wanted a more original name and after a bit of research - " Tom starts explaining._

_" - using my lovely invention - " I hold up my Language Dictionary, handing it over to allow Slughorn to look it over._

_" - we found that an anagram - "_

_" - of 'Tom Marvolo Riddle' that didn't sound like complete - " Tom cuts in._

_" - idiocy, so I have decided that if I should ever lose my marbles - " I had been about to say something else, but that works, too._

_" - or get really mad at Dumbledork - " Slughorn looks up a little shocked at my disrespect for the well-respected Transfiguration teacher. Well-respected to all but the Slytherin students and several choice wizards in the school and out in the Wizarding world._

_" - and I decide that I am going to do something so stupid as to become - " Smiling, I jump in._

_" - the next Dark Lord, then he's going to call himself - " Tom elbows me and I allow his grande finale._

_" - Voldemort, which means 'Flight of Death'." Slughorn shakes his head, clearly amused._

_"Kieran, this is brilliant and Tom, if you ever want to become a Dark Lord you'll have to first defeat G - "_

_**#back#**_

Dumbledork re-enters the room, causing Slughorn to jump as though he had forgotten he was in the house.

"Oh, there you are, Albus. You've been a very long time. Upset stomach?"

"No, I was merely reading the Muggle magazines. I do love knitting patterns. Well, Harry, we have trespassed upon Horace's hospitality quite long enough; I think it is time for us to leave."

Personally, I'd rather stay here and ply him for more information and get more flashes of memory yet still foggy, but I get up stiffly. I don't want to go with Dumblefuck. Slughorn seems taken aback.

"You're leaving?"

"Yes, indeed. I think I know a lost cause when I see one."

"Lost... ?" Slughorn fidgets agitatedly, twiddling his fat thumbs as he watches Dumbledork fasten his traveling cloak and me zip up my jacket.

"Well, I'm sorry you don't want the job, Horace," says Dumbledore, raising his uninjured hand in a farewell salute. "Hogwarts would have been glad to see you back again. Our greatly increased security notwithstanding, you will always be welcome to visit, should you wish to."

"Yes... well... very gracious... as I say..."

"Good-bye, then."

"Bye," I tell him, staring at him regretfully. I know he won't last. Just another little push...

We get to the front door when we hear a shout from behind us.

"All right, all right, I'll do it!" Dumbledork turns to see Slughorn standing breathless in the doorway to the sitting room.

"You will come out of retirement?"

"Yes, yes," says Slughorn impatiently. "I must be mad, but yes."

"Wonderful," Dumbledore says, beaming. "Then, Horace, we shall see you on the first of September."

"Yes, I daresay you will," grunts Slughorn. His eyes keep darting over to stare at me and I have to repress a grin.

As we set off down the garden path, Slughorn's voice floats after us, "I'll want a pay rise, Dumbledore!"

_**TBC...**_

_**AN:** Because I'm sure you don't want to read anymore of this and I really hate writing between such narrow lines, I've weaved a little further off course and will continue to, dragging you all off on the path of my choosing._

_To you who still don't know who 'G' is, this is a bit more teasing. 'Harry' is going to have to ask Slughorn in private what the Beast's name is. This is in no way Beauty and the Beast by the way, Disney version or otherwise unless the Beast rapes Beauty? Wtf? Yeah right, anyway, chapter 8 already in progress. This is what I do in school when I'm not working, after all._

_By the way, who actually went and looked up binaries when they started reading this?_


	8. A Full Day of Frustrations

**Binaries**

**By BEWD Sorcerer**

Disclaimer: If I owned Harry Potter, then we'd love it even more, but since I don't, we have to settle for fanfiction.

_**AN: **__Why do I have this feeling that a bunch of you just looked at the reviews and saw who 'G' is? #sighs, shaking head# Doesn't matter now. Harry still doesn't remember, so there will be some frustration because the reader (you) will be bouncing up and down in your chairs, screaming at Harry who 'G' is, but Harry can't hear you. There's a specific word for it, but I can't remember..._

_Also, as much as I would love to keep calling Kieran 'Harry', I'm going to just have to let it go as Harry - at least until something big happens. Look at it closer if you don't get what I mean._

_**#flash# **_

_**/spell/**_

_**#thoughts#**_

"Out loud speech, English"

_'Parseltongue'_ Parseltongue in a dream or memory will not be in italics.

**::Link Speech:: **Note: not L337 speak

**8.**** A Full Day of Frustrations**

After resisting all homicidal urges toward Dumbledore and Molly Weasley had settled him down in the twins' old room, he gratefully collapsed into Morpheus' arms, hopeful for more clues.

Not half an hour later he jerked up and rushed out to the bathroom, the contents of his stomach splattering in the porcelain bowl as it was violently expelled from his body. His body rejecting food like he wanted to reject what the bastard of a Dark Lord had done to him and Tom. Unfortunately, it wouldn't be that easy and he knew it. Salazar, he missed Tom. Reaffirming his oath to do anything to destroy the Dark Lord and regain his brother, Harry stood, washed his mouth out and made his way back to bed.

It felt as if he had just lay down when he was up again, dry heaving and trying not to choke. Apparently, he wasn't going to get any sleep. Brooding over the Dark Lord situation or Dumbledore's manipulations would do nothing but frustrate him. Tom was still hidden behind a wall, which was making him jumpy, so when he felt slightly more stable he returned to the twins' old room and read through his old schoolbooks till he heard Mrs. Weasley making breakfast.

It was almost twenty minutes later that Hermione, Ron, and Ginny came down the stairs to find Harry and Fleur chatting amicably about custom spells with Molly eying Harry speculatively. The three teens were just as surprised as the Weasley matriarch with their friend.

"Harry?" Ron managed to choke out, drawing everyone's attention.

"Yes, Ron?" Somehow Harry remained calm, though he was mentally cursing his carelessness. He hadn't meant to give away anything, but when Fleur had mentioned the differences between Latin and French spells, Harry had remembered a certain book he had read forty years ago on the different spell languages and had asked a question he had always wondered about French spells. This is ended up leading them to the conversation that shocked all who thought he knew hardly anything about topics other than DADA and Quidditch.

"What - " Ron started to ask, but Hermione cut in.

"When have you read The Languages of Spells?" Still remaining calm on the outside, Harry smiled at her disbelief.

"Before the Second Task I happened upon it and it seemed like a really good read," Harry lied smoothly. 'Harry James Potter' had no other interests besides DADA and Quidditch. Even his love interest was connected to them as was his goal in life: to defeat the Dark Lord. Hermione pursed her lips, undoubtedly resisting the urge to chew him out again for not solving the egg earlier and then getting distracted. Not wanting to answer any more questions, Harry swiftly changed the subject.

_**#shift#**_

An hour and a feast of food later, Harry had found out why Fleur was there and told those who hadn't known who Slughorn was, conveniently leaving out what subject he'd be teaching, couldn't give away _too_ much information. After the three youngest finished eating, they dragged Harry outside with shouted warnings from Mrs. Weasley and throaty chuckles from Fleur about children being children.

Listening to their chatter about what was going on was soothingly familiar, if a bit worrying. He worried about Tonks, but he didn't think it was for the reason that the other three thought it was, especially with what Mrs. Weasley said to her last night. Maybe it had something to do with Remus? He'd have to do a bit more digging to find out.

'Wait, why should I care? They have been part of the plot against Tom and me. Then again I don't know if they knew what they were doing or not or even who I was - really am.' Suddenly, there was a hand on his shoulder, shaking him lightly, and a loud voice in his ear he vaguely recognized as Ron, but he was startled enough to lash out without thought.

"Harry! What are you doing?!" Hermione screeched, forcing him to focus on what was happening around him. Ron was on the ground 10 feet away, trying to get air back into his lungs after being thrown for trying to disturb Harry.

"I - Are you alright?" Rushing over, he plopped down right next to the gasping redhead, who nodded shakily. He sat up with both Hermione and Harry's assistance, but winced when one's grip became a little too hard.

"H-Harry, what - ?" Ron managed to wheeze, glancing up into distant green eyes. A moment passed as a flicker of something like annoyance flitted through Harry's expression before he snapped out of it.

"Sorry, Ron. I just remembered something upsetting." Carefully propping his once best friend against the bushy-haired girl they had befriended so long ago, Harry stood, countenance extremely guarded. "Excuse me," he murmured before setting off at a brisk pace toward a small copse of trees in the distance. None of the other teenagers had anything to say, besides to check on Ron, who after he got his wind back acted like nothing odd had happened.

_**#shift#**_

Frustration like nothing before raged through his body, making wisps of uncontrolled magic dance around him sporadically. Had he stayed near the others, even though they didn't have the Sight, one of them would have figured out what was going on - at least partially - and the one who was most likely to do that would tell on him in a heartbeat if she thought it was for his own good. Needing a lot of empty space to vent safely, he continued past the clump of trees. He was ever so grateful that the Weasleys lived so far away from anyone.

Now, as long as none of the redheaded clan used brooms to chase after him or something, he would be able to vent the emotions forced upon him by someone else. No one was likely to notice the damage done to some quaint scenery in the middle of nowhere.

First things first - he started screaming.

_**#shift#**_

"Oh, _there _you are, Harry! We were so worried. Where have you been? No one could tell where you'd gone," Mrs. Weasley's tirade continued in its half-worried, half-scolding tone, but Harry knew his limits and he wasn't about to let himself collapse in front of them. They were already worried enough. Taking a seat at the dinner table, Harry did his best to quell Molly's over-exaggerated worry. It had only been a few hours, for crying out loud!

"Sorry," he somehow managed to whisper. "I needed some alone time, just for a little bit." This, sadly, just made her even more worried. Immediately, she gave him a glass of water and a potion for his throat, continuing to mother him nearly to death. "I'm fine! I'm fine! I just need a little rest for my throat. No, I did not get into a fight or experience anything suspicious. There are no Death Eaters near here." There was a knock at the door. _Speak of the devil…_

"Who is it?" Arthur stood and tiptoed over to the door as all the rest of the family trained their wands on the closed door.

"It is I, Arthur. I trust Dumbledore told you I was coming?" The unmistakable drawl of Snape easily permeated the room, making most of the younger Weasleys shudder. Too many bad memories of that same man looming over them and being absolutely cruel to their rather poor attempts at potions allowing them to easily picture him trying to intimidate the door into opening for him without the password.

"Is there anyone with you?" The tension in the room increased exponentially. Why did he ask that? Everyone was supposed to have a security question, but that didn't sound very secure at all.

"Yes, only a couple dozen invisible gnomes and pixies ready to chew on your ears - of course, there's no one with me. Are you daft?" Everyone was still waiting and debating quietly whether the Weasley patriarch had gone mad or if he was attaining a Dumbledore-esque cleverness.

"Only as much as the white crup is when it finds a stray kneazle," Arthur declared proudly and let the dour Potions Master in without another word. Everyone already in the room but Molly just stared at the two oddly. What was going on?

"I swear he has something illegal in those lemon drops of his," Snape muttered so low that only Arthur and Harry could just barely pick it up, not that the sallow man had meant for Harry to, of course. If Harry had thought his expression had been dour when he entered, it neared absolutely black when he noticed Harry sitting at the end of the table. "Is there something wrong, Potter, or do you have a sudden fascination with me?" He narrowed his eyes challengingly.

"Only if you've finally realized I am not my father nor even my mother and I only treat people how they treat me," he bit out, standing and shifting to a defiant stance. Vaguely, he noticed that his speech was almost hissed out, though he knew it wasn't quite Parseltongue and his eyes were tingling uncomfortably. The expression on Snape's face was worth it, though, he had to admit. It was as if Voldemort had just stepped into the room.

Shifting his line of sight just slightly, he was able to see his reflection in one of the small mirrors hung in various places around the Burrow and then knew why the Great Bat was freaked. One of his eyes had gone crimson while the other stayed resolutely viridian. Closing the odd eye, he was very thankful that Arthur was unable to see the change because of the angle he was at.

"Mrs. Weasley, I think I need to head for bed now," he made his way swiftly out of the room and up the stairs. Salazar, he was glad he wasn't sharing Ron's room this time around. That's all he needed - for his once best mate to freak because some of his twin's darkness had leaked over their link and was pooling in his eye. It gave him a bit of an advantage like better night vision and he could detect magic easier, but the changed color of his lauded eyes was going to get him in deep shit.

Snape would undoubtedly run straight to Dumbledore with this new development. Cursing silently, Harry kicked over one of the boxes littering the room. As a result, a strangely shaped piece of cloth plopped out onto the floor. He cautiously leaned over to pick it up - just as the door flew open, smacking him in the arse and sending him tumbling over the bed.

"Potter, could you be anymore of a fool?!" Snape growled, slamming the door and erecting silencing and privacy wards. "Don't try to intimidate me by drawing on the Dark Lord's power. It will not work and you have just earned yourself seven weeks of detentions to try and purge that very power from your eye!" Dragging himself up onto the bed, Harry glared at the furious professor. As if he had consciously decided to draw in the darkness of his arch nemesis! He wanted to argue, but knew it would be completely futile, so he settled on nodding stiffly.

"What do you propose I should do in the mean time to prevent the mass panic if this were to be discovered?" Giving him an odd look, Snape scooped up the odd cloth that had set him up for his tumble.

"You will use this," he declared shortly, before slipping his wand out from somewhere in his volumous robes and transfiguring it into an eye patch. Tossing it effectively, the Potions Master delivered it close enough for Harry to snatch it out of the air. The older man quirked his eyebrow at the display of excellent seeker talent, but the teen just affixed it over the eye that had been affected - his left.

"And the reason why I look like I'm training to become the next Mad-Eye Moody?" Leaning back against the pillows of his lovely borrowed bed, Harry stared very calmly at his professor. Thankfully, he had taken out all his frustration and aggression, so he was feeling a bit exhausted and bored with the older man's theatrics.

"Can't you think of something for yourself?" Snape sneered, crossing his arms in front of his chest and looking down his rather large nose at Harry.

"I'm sure I could come up with something suitable, but I was asking you because when you inform Dumbledore, I want to be telling the same story he is." Harry's calm explanation led to the darkening of the Potions Master's expression. It was almost as if he were going to argue for a few minutes, then it cleared and his posture loosened just a fraction.

"Tell all who ask that it's training. The Dark Lord won't stop if you somehow lose a limb or the use of one of your senses. You will also be training with various teachers this year if they can spare the time." Nodding, Harry observed the other before noticing exactly what he said after the explanation.

"Training like Occlumency?" Snape scowled at the suggestion, giving the immediate inclination that, no, he would not be learning Occlumency from him ever again if he had anything to say about it, thankyouverymuch, but then the man actually nodded - grudgingly, but he did none-the-less. "Wonderful," Harry muttered to himself, though he knew his professor heard him quite well and was taking that the wrong way. "Even though you won't believe me, I really am sorry about looking into your Pensieve without permission. I'm sure others fear for my safety every day not necessarily because of the Dark Lord, but because of my curiosity."

"Do you think for one second that I'll forgive you because of such a pathetic apology? Do you think I don't know you probably went and told every single one of your little Gryffindor frien - " he sneered, but there was no way Harry was going to sit and let the older man take out frustrations on him for something he had never even considered doing. Not anymore.

"I haven't told a single person! I'm seriously starting to hate that man for making my life so difficult with his grudges and cruelty! Don't judge me by the fact that I'm blood-related to a man I never knew," Harry snarled, clenching the bedspread so tightly it was almost ripping. This seemed to shock the Potions Bat more than anything else, even the apology. "Just because I'm suspended on a pedestal I don't belong anywhere near doesn't mean I'm arrogant; it means you are assuming that just because he was legally my father that I will be just like him. I hadn't had any ill will towards you until you started singling me out for things I had nothing to do with. Now I'm pissed that you can force the weight of a father's sins on his son before you'd even met him!" Seemingly shocked to his core, Snape slumped back against the closed door. "I'm not sure which is worse. The fact that they really did die and leave me with my Muggle relatives or the fact that said Muggle relatives raised me to believe that my father was an unemployed drunk and neither of them could care less if I went to an orphanage or if I was left for dead in a ditch." The strain was quickly becoming too much for him, so he slumped down again, but he was incredibly relieved that he had finally gotten that off his chest after all this time.

"It seems you are not as much like your father as I had assumed. I hope to see more independent behavior from you in the future." There Snape went, half-apologizing and then carrying on in an almost insulting way.

"Could you fix something for me, sir?" Harry called out as his professor turned to leave. Stalking over to the bedside, Snape looked at the teen in a new light. Was it really true that the boy detested his father for leaving him with such burdens? It sounded disturbingly familiar to his own life, though he'd had the misfortune of having to deal with his father before the man's death.

"What is it?" Harry pointed to his new accessory.

"Would you please spell this so that it does not hinder my eyesight and protect it from being removed except by my own hand?" These were reasonable requests and it didn't take hardly any time to complete. "Thank you, sir, and congratulations on becoming the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. Have a pleasant evening." It wasn't so bad now that those worries and obstacles had been taken care of and making Snape give him another strange look was always entertaining. Nodding just slightly, the older man acknowledged and showed his appreciation.

"Sleep well," Snape drawled as he left, appearing to be faintly confused and definitely intrigued. Chuckling softly, Harry turned onto his left side, hoping and praying that he'd have a mostly dreamless sleep this time. He was so tired since he hadn't gotten hardly any sleep the night before. Drifting off almost immediately, he hoped that no one would disturb him either. Bloody annoyingly concerned people that just made things worse...

He was asleep before he had finished the thought.

_**AN**_: Also, people have been pestering me about if I've abandoned this. Abandon my _baby_? No way! I've spent this last summer procrastinating and chasing plotbunnies, which has lead to an interesting twist I will eventually write, but not in this fic.

Also, while there are many different types of binaries (mathematical, chemical, etc) the ones I'm referring to in this fic are those that are astronomical – _stars_, people!


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